3R Home and Barn Project

[3RRL]

So this is what the first two levels look like now. The first two photos show the RV pad which is between the garage and the solar shed and barn. We leveled and smoothed it a little, but will plant grass there next week I hope.
The last two photos show the terrace surrounding the garage and concrete slab. That drive will end up having gravel on it, but along the sides of the slab will also be planted with grass. Loretta bought a bunch of plants and flowers to plant on the high sides of the rock wall to reduce erosion there. We compacted quite a bit and buried the big rocks into the ground about 1/3 of their height. Once it's all green, it should look pretty nice for a Hillbilly place. There's just too much grading and seeding left to do before the rainy season arrives. We have not added automatic sprinkler systems yet but will do so at a later date.



This last photo shows how much grading we've done already, it is looking at the homesite from the front. But there is one more terrace to build at the lower level of the basement door on the left in that photo. We have a little bit done but will need to gather a whole bunch of rocks to build that one. Then grass all over that area and the adjacent septic drainage field.
While taking a break, I snapped this shot of Coco enjoying the view from the back deck. Also saw this Red Tailed Hawk perched in a tree down by the paved road about a 1/4 mile away. I got him through my spotting scope. I pushed the camera phone up to the scope until it focused and snapped it. Hope you can view it.

 

[rtdiggr]

RV pad what the heck do you need that for? People want to go to places like yours not go on a trip from places like you have.

Seriously the place and the setting looks great.

Shane

 

[3RRL]

Thanks Shane,
It is not for us because we don't own one.
I was asked to have an RV pad for when our friends visit us. So I made a space for them. I have electrical hookups, water and even a dump for them hooked right into the septic.
What a guy... now all I need is those friends to show up while I'm still doing all this work.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Rob, your place is looking better each time that you show it. How is this possible, how do you continue to improve upon perfection? Looks to me that Coco knows what to do in this summer heat. You should be careful about joking about having friends over with all the work that your doing. What would you do if everybody showed up with their equipment to help? You would have to be a superintendent and before you knew it all would be accomplished and nothing left for Rob and Loretta to do but set on the deck with Coco sipping cool beverages. Hmmm, maybe that wouldn't be all that bad. Oh, one last thing, hillbillies, maybe the Beverly Hillbillies.

 

[dfkrug]

In order to finish up the terracing in the front of the home, Loretta and I had to go around the property picking out large rocks. There was a pile behind the garage that we got a few from too. This was very enjoyable to do together. We used the Jinma 284 to tow the dump trailer and the Kama 554 with backhoe on to pick up and load it. Some of the bigger ones you saw in the earlier posts were too big for the Nardi backhoe, so I had to use the FEL and grapple set up.

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Wow, those are impressive rocks. You seem to be able to lift some very
large ones with the hoe....and that has to be 2000+ pounds in the trailer.
It sure is nice to have a dump trailer and dependable help!

 

[jinman]

Rob, you are making great progress. Things are starting to look much more finished. I can identify with moving rocks because I've done a reasonable amount of that myself. The only suggestion I would have is for you to put some smaller rocks below your large ones on the slopes as rip-rap. I'd choose grapefruit to cantaloupe size. This will keep the soil from eroding below the bigger stones from runoff and direct rain. If the slope undercuts your upper border, it will start sliding and moving down the slope. Of course, grass is a big erosion preventer, but it will be awhile before you get good grass. Maybe you should plant some wheat in that area to get a quick growth of vegetation. If you keep it trimmed, it will look neat and give you some time to get your grass going.

 

[MarkV]

Rob,

After following your project for the last year I just had to take a moment to thank-you for the time you have spent to share with all of us on TBN. What a beautiful place you and Loretta have created. You two should be very proud.

I wanted to share a little side story I thought you and Loretta might enjoy. The other day I noticed Louise, my best half, had been reading on TBN for an hour or so. She like Loretta has her own tractor and at times will read some of the posts here on the forum. As I was walking by Louise said,”Honey we should talk about doing a remodel.” Now over the last few decades I have learned that when the sentence starts with, “ Honey we should talk about.......” it translates to, “I have decided....”. So I ask her what brought that up and was told she just read 27 pages about the ‘3R Home and Barn Project’. My mind immediately said ‘Mark you are in big trouble this time’.

So Rob and Loretta thanks again for sharing your project, I think. We will BOTH be looking forward to the latest updates.

MarkV

 

[Defective]

Poor Mark...

He was a good man. He will be sorely missed.

(I'm kinda glad my second wife is no longer around. She would have beat Louise to the punch.)

 

[3RRL]

Rob, your place is looking better each time that you show it. How is this possible, how do you continue to improve upon perfection? Looks to me that Coco knows what to do in this summer heat. You should be careful about joking about having friends over with all the work that your doing. What would you do if everybody showed up with their equipment to help? You would have to be a superintendent and before you knew it all would be accomplished and nothing left for Rob and Loretta to do but set on the deck with Coco sipping cool beverages. Hmmm, maybe that wouldn't be all that bad. Oh, one last thing, hillbillies, maybe the Beverly Hillbillies.

Hi Brian and thanks for your continued interest in this saga.
Wouldn't it be great for a bunch of you to show up? We could have a tractor BBQ gathering. Really, there are so many things to do around here I don't think I'll ever run out of stuff to do. Just the maintenance required for the equipment, solar and daily chores are overwhelming, let alone the new projects like these. Shees, wait till I start my little pond project...

 

[3RRL]

Wow, those are impressive rocks. You seem to be able to lift some very
large ones with the hoe....and that has to be 2000+ pounds in the trailer.
It sure is nice to have a dump trailer and dependable help!

Hi Dave,
Yeah, that little dump trailer sure has come in handy. You know I got that when I ordered Loretta's tractor from China. It's worth every penny of the 700 bucks and I'm glad I added it to the order. In hindsight, I wish I would've ordered the 2 ton model instead. But this one is pretty good. This is one of those Chinese purchases that turns out pretty good because it's structurally pretty well built and not too much can go wrong or wear out. Other stuff I might be skeptical... stuff like (some) tools...well, some are Ok and some are not. I pick out those I know I can fix if I have to. I went with the Chinese tractors because I am fairly handy wrenching and can fix/make stuff pretty good. It doesn't bother me.

On a side note, I have over 550 hours on the Kama now and Loretta has about 80 on her Jinma now. Together that's a lot and might be what an average homeowner CUT tractor owner puts on his rig over many years or perhaps a lifetime of ownership, depending how much he uses it, of course. If were truly and AG farm or contractor I probably would've gotten and American made tractor. But for what I do and for what they've done for me so far, I am very happy with their performance and power.

About those huge boulders ... the really big ones were loaded with the Kama FEL and bucket grapple set up. The hoe can't lift those really big ones.